Tag Archives: Indian Muslim Soldiers in WW1

Letter about the burial of Muslim Indian soldiers

UNITED KINGDOM :

This statement, made by Maulvi Sadr-Ud-Din, provides an insight into the treatment of Muslim Indian soldiers who had fought during World War One and died in hospitals in Britain. Sadr-Ud-Din, from the Shah Jahan Mosque at Woking, was charged with overseeing their burial in England.

What does the statement reveal?

From 1915, there were nine sites in the South of England set up specifically for the treatment of wounded Indian soldiers. This included the Dome Hospital in Brighton and the convalescent camp at Barton-on-Sea. These were hospitals of high standards with up-to-date medical facilities, as well as services dedicated to catering for every religious need.

The Maulvi’s statement, however, raises issues with the posthumous treatment of soldiers who died in these hospitals. He states that the bodies of Muslim soldiers were often sent to him with the wrong name; without flowers; or with no provision for a military demonstration at the grave. Although Sadr-Ud-Din had been allocated a plot of burial land at Woking on Horsell Common, he describes it being in a poor state and maintains that his requests for improvements have been ignored.

Sadr-Ud-Din warns of the ‘grave danger of allowing the impression to gain ground in India that England is not showing sufficient respect to the memories of her Indian heroes’. His concluding words hint at the unease in Indian-British relations at this time and, in particular, the growing nationalist movement which was campaigning against British rule. In response, the government – in a public-relations exercise – commissioned improvements to the burial site at Woking.

These improvements were led, in part, by the suggestions made in Sadr-Ud-Din’s statement. These included a permanent enclosure of the piece of land; making paths in order to distinguish between grave and ground; to employ members of staff in the everyday running of the cemetery; and to build three structures: a morgue, a waiting room and a gateway to not only simplify the burial process, but to also give the area precedence. The gateway, at Sadr-Ud-Din’s request, was designed ‘in Eastern-style […] as a Memorial to the fallen Indian soldiers.’

The majority of these requests were realised, although the morgue and waiting room were never built.

________

source:

Full title:Correspondence about Moulvi Sadruddin, Imam of the Woking Mosque, and the burial of Muslim soldiers in England.

Created:27 August 1915,

WokingFormat:Typescript, Letter

Creator:Maulvie Sadr-Ud-Din

Usage termsCrown Copyright

Held byBritish Library

Shelfmark:Mss Eur F143/80

Full catalogue details

_________

source: http://www.bl.uk / British Library / Home> Collection Items / (This item I feature in ‘All South Asians in Britain Collections’ and ‘All World War One Collection Items’ / (date viewed July 09th, 2022)

Personal Letters By World War I Indian Muslim Soldiers Unveiled In UK

London, UNITED KINGDOM :

Islam Issa found that at least 885,000 Muslims were recruited by Allied forces
Islam Issa found that at least 885,000 Muslims were recruited by Allied forces

London :

Personal letters written by Indian Muslim soldiers who fought in World War I sharing their impression of England 100 years ago in comparison to their home country were on Friday released by a literature expert in London.

Islam Issa from Birmingham City University earlier this year found that at least 885,000 Muslims were recruited by the Allied forces in the war between 1914 and 1918. He released the letters to mark Armistice Day, or the end of the war.

The over 100-year-old letters highlight the experiences of Indian soldiers as they share their impressions of England in comparison to their home country, Heritage Daily reported.

Mr Issa has been researching individual stories from the war for an exhibition commissioned by and held at the British Muslim Heritage Centre in Manchester, called Stories of Sacrifice.

During his research, he found that 1.5 million Indians and 280,000 Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians fought for the Allies during World War I, many of them Muslims.

“When I decided to look at soldiers’ letters, I expected a very bleak outlook on the war. Of course, sometimes, that’s exactly what I found. But quite often, the letters were about individual experiences and very normal, human things,” said Mr Issa.

“These anecdotes certainly helped shape my narrative for the Stories of Sacrifice exhibition. While there’s an important narrative about the war as a whole, the personal and human narrative was probably more striking. Whatever your ideology or stance, you end up realising that these Muslim soldiers were individual humans and as a result, they were making sacrifices at that individual, human level,” he said.
Complete with a virtual library, lesson plans and a toolkit for schools, the British Muslim Heritage Centre’s exhibition is the first long-term exhibition of its kind, devoted solely to exemplifying the Muslim community’s contribution and sacrifices during World War One.

On his trip to a London department store in 1915, soldier A.

Ali writes: “We visited a shop where 2000 men and women were working and everything can be bought. There is no need of asking as the price is written on everything.”

In the same letter, he shares his experience of the London Underground: “Then we went in the train that goes under the earth, it was for us a strange and wonderful experience – they call it the underground train.”

In another 1915 letter by Abdul Said, more opinions on shopping and butchers are shared.

“Every shop in this country is so arranged that one is delighted to look at them. Whether you buy much or little it is properly wrapped up, and if you tell the shop man to send it to your house you have only to give him your address and he delivers it.

“The butcher’s shops in Hindustan are very dirty, but here they are so clean and tidy that there is absolutely no smell.”

source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Section> Indians Abroad / by Press Trust of India / November 12th, 2016